Andy Close
CLARENDON, Pa. – The former Allegheny Valley School in Clarendon is now home to a space where homeless veterans can get back on their feet.
An open house for the Allegheny Valley Veterans Center was held on Thursday evening, showcasing the renovated facility.
“It’s a community center with a homeless shelter built into it,” Clarendon Borough Mayor Tom Eaton said. “A lot of hard work has gone into it. We’ve made huge strides from November until now.”
November of 2021 is when the renovations started for the building, which also houses the Clarendon Borough offices and WestPa.net.
“We’re concentrating mostly on the homeless shelter side, but it is a true community center,” Eaton said. “We have 13 people on the Board of Directors and a lot of people have stepped up and helped out.”
The upstairs includes 20 units to house veterans, as well as a day room with a big screen television, a library, and a large open area to socialize. There is also a game room which will be housing a pool table, among other things.
The units are in pods of four, with a washer and dryer for each.
“As far as homeless centers we’ve gone and toured, this is the Taj Mahal,” Eaton said
The center will include veterans who are being released from VA hospitals in the region and need a place to stay, Eaton explained. Money collected through fundraising efforts will cover the veterans’ stay.
“It gives a veteran a place to go, relax, find themselves and get back on the straight and narrow,” Eaton said. “Warren County is the perfect place to put this. Since about November, we started construction on the rooms and it’s gone great. We’re trying to get everything done by Oct. 1 because that’s when the federal grants come in.
“We have one resident in here right now and he’s doing very well. We’ve helped secure him a housing voucher so he’s on his way to getting what he needs. He’s a Vietnam vet. We want him to be happy and he will be.”
Artwork courtesy of Warren Area Elementary Center students was also on display, with Eaton saying that the art will eventually hang on the walls in the rooms.
“I think it will be very soothing,” Eaton said.
Phase 2 of construction will include finishing the downstairs, where Eaton said the goal is to eventually help women veterans as well.
“We’re hoping to get women veterans if possible,” he said.
